Security Concerns Rise Over Jordanian Workers Crossing Daily Into Eilat Hotels
Thousands of Jordanian workers cross into Eilat daily for hotel jobs, raising urgent security questions about oversight, background checks, and the risk of nationalist terror attacks following the post-October 7 security reality.
Every morning, approximately 2,500 Jordanian workers cross the border into Eilat to work in local hotels. Many spend hours among guests, moving freely through the city. Alongside this routine lies a critical security question: how thorough and consistent are the background checks, and is the security apparatus prepared for a scenario where a worker exploits daily access to carry out a nationalist terror attack?
Each morning before the promenade fills with tourists, a fixed ritual takes place at the Yitzhak Rabin Crossing. Workers exit Aqaba, cross the border, undergo inspections, and enter Israel, returning home in the evening. For the tourist, this is a worker cleaning a room or preparing a hotel. For Israel, it is a foreign national entering its territory daily.
The Post-October 7 Security Reality
The October 7 massacre and the prolonged multi-front war altered Israel's security paradigm. In this reality, the daily transit of thousands of workers from a neighboring country demands continuous monitoring rather than a one-time entry clearance.
The 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan established the framework for cooperation between Eilat and Aqaba. Government Resolution 1773 in June 2014 regulated the employment of 1,500 Jordanian workers in Eilat hotels, a quota gradually raised to 2,500, alongside 450 in other sectors.
Every worker's entry is conditioned upon a Shabak clearance and a Population and Immigration Authority permit. Regulations dictate they are day laborers who must leave Israel by the end of the shift. Employers must transport them directly from the border and ensure they remain solely within the permitted hotel.
"The most dangerous thing is routine, a routine that kills," says a senior tourism industry official. "They always check, but as the perceived risk drops, people sink into routine—until something explodes."
Monitoring Beyond the Border
Questions regarding oversight remain open. Many workers are observed moving around the tourist zone during work hours, their movements unmonitored. The issue concerns whether clearances are updated, whether daily entries are cross-referenced with fresh intelligence, and if a red-flag mechanism exists for intelligence updates.
Past incidents heighten these concerns. In 2018, a Jordanian worker attacked two Israelis with a hammer in the port of Eilat, severely injuring them in what was investigated as a nationalist terror attack. The indictment revealed the worker had planned the assault long in advance, utilizing his employment route to enter the country.
During the 2024-2025 period, criminal investigations involving Jordanian workers were also reported, including sexual offense suspicions such as the arrest of a worker over the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl.
The Dilemma of Expansion Amid War
On October 7, entry was halted and resumed only a day later. Numbers were temporarily reduced, and security forces revoked permits for two workers over inflammatory statements. By 2024, quotas were restored, and workers continued arriving even during active rocket fire and drone detonations over Eilat and Aqaba.
Despite security sensitivities, the state continues to pursue expansion. Israeli Ambassador to Jordan Rogel Rachman recently noted that Jordanians are eager for employment, and if quotas can be increased, Israel supports it. Government ministries are also reviewing expansions into the industrial sector.
The core dilemma facing the state and Shabak is not whether every one of the 2,500 workers is dangerous, but how many layers of protection exist between a daily commuter and the potential execution of a nationalist terror attack.
